Psychology News and Research

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Psychology is the study of human mental functions, behavior and processes.

Findings suggest that brain predicts the consequences of eye movements

When the eyes move, objects in the line of sight suddenly jump to a different place on the retina, but the mind perceives the scene as stable and continuous. A new study reports that the brain predicts the consequences of eye movement even before the eyes take in a new scene.

26 Aug 2009

New website launched by Eating Disorder Hope to provide a comprehensive resource on eating disorders

Millions of Americans suffer from eating disorders and many don't know where to turn to for help. Jacquelyn Ekern, a licensed counselor and founder of Eating Disorder Hope, launched the site, www.eatingdisorderhope.com, to provide a comprehensive resource for support, referrals and education about eating disorders.

26 Aug 2009

Health and Human Services Secretary to appoint Helene Gayle as the Chair of Presidential Advisory Council

Today, Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius announced her intent to appoint Helene Gayle, MD, MPH to serve as the Chair of the Presidential Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS. Secretary Sebelius made the announcement in Atlanta at the 2009 National HIV Prevention Conference.

25 Aug 2009

Dalai Lama to participate in The Mind and Life Institute's Washington D.C. conference

On Oct. 8-9, 2009, the Dalai Lama will participate in our Washington D.C. conference, Educating World Citizens for the 21st Century. The goal of this ML XIX conference is to explore the value of integrating emotional, intellectual and social learning into today's educational programs with the intention to promote education research into these areas.

25 Aug 2009

Department of Veterans Affairs to simplify rules for PSTD compensation claimants

Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric K. Shinseki announced the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is taking steps to assist Veterans seeking compensation for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).

25 Aug 2009

Study links positive work experiences with happier home life

A Kansas State University study shows that invigorated and dedicated employees carry over their positive work experiences for a happier home life.

25 Aug 2009

Rhode Island Hospital to identify a model for integrating screening and brief interventions for alcohol misuse

There are an estimated 7.6 million alcohol-related emergency department (ED) visits each year in the country. A first step in identifying an alcohol problem is screening all ED patients utilizing two well-researched screening tests.

24 Aug 2009

Missing doctoral student's family and friends establishes the Rescue Resource Fund

The Family and friends of David Gimelfarb have established the Rescue Resource Fund in support of agencies involved in a search and rescue operation currently underway in Costa Rica. David, a doctoral student at the Adler School of Professional Psychology, went missing last week while vacationing in the northern part of Costa Rica.

24 Aug 2009

Care Support Of America CEO offers advice on caregiving to aging relatives

Summer has its own serious issues for seniors living at home, but a little bit of planning by family caregivers can go a long way should a weather emergency occur. Summer emergencies include not only major disasters like hurricanes and wildfires, but also heat emergencies and storms that knock out electricity and access to services," says Dr. Dan Tobin, CEO of Care Support of America, a national family caregiving service.

21 Aug 2009

Cognitive behavioural therapy effective when delivered in online by a therapist

Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) seems to be effective when delivered online in real time by a therapist, with benefits maintained over 8 months. This method of delivery could broaden access to CBT in primary care. These are the conclusions of an article in this week's Global Mental Health special edition of The Lancet, written by Dr David Kessler, NIHR National School for Primary Care Research, University of Bristol and colleagues.

21 Aug 2009

New book explores neurobiology of pleasure

A sense of pleasure generated by the brain's hedonic neural systems is fundamental to daily life, and indeed has been essential to the evolution and survival of humans and most animals, say Morten Kringelbach and Kent Berridge, editors of Pleasures of the Brain. The rewards we experience through sensations such as food, sex and social interaction are driving forces necessary to maintain life, they argue.

20 Aug 2009

National Institute on Drug Abuse funds study on development of prenatally cocaine-exposed children

Teen years are filled with experimenting. Sometimes that means trying some risky behaviors.

20 Aug 2009

Fatigue during radiotherapy for breast or prostate cancer may be caused by inflammation

Patients who experience fatigue during radiotherapy for breast or prostate cancer may be reacting to activation of the proinflammatory cytokine network, a known inflammatory pathway, according to a report in Clinical Cancer Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.

19 Aug 2009

Running and addiction

Although exercise is good for your health, extreme exercise may be physically addicting. Rats given a drug that produces withdrawal in heroin addicts went into withdrawal after running excessively in exercise wheels, according to new research. Rats that ran the hardest had the most severe withdrawal symptoms.

17 Aug 2009

Researchers study sleep paralysis

Professor Chris French, has co-authored a paper on sleep paralysis with Julia Santomauro, both of the Anomalistic Psychology Research Unit at Goldsmiths, University of London, which is published in Issue 22 (August 2009) of The Psychologist.

14 Aug 2009

Decreased cravings for pleasure may be at root of a core symptom of major depressive disorder

Decreased motivation to seek and experience pleasurable experiences, known as anhedonia, is a primary symptom of major depressive disorder. Anhedonia is less responsive to many antidepressants and often persists after other symptoms of depression subside. However, understanding the different components of anhedonia - the desire to obtain something pleasurable versus experiencing pleasure - has been difficult for researchers to determine in humans.

12 Aug 2009

Massage therapy eases sickle cell disease pain in children

Massage offers both physical and psychological benefits and is used at Nationwide Children’s Hospital in many areas including Rehabilitation, Physical Medicine and in patients who have received organ transplants, just to name a few. Researchers at Nationwide Children’s recently published a study in the Journal of Pediatric Psychology that revealed the benefits of massage in reducing pain, anxiety and depression in children with Sickle Cell Disease.

12 Aug 2009

Only the best looking men tempt women into casual sex

Men are far more interested in casual sex than women. While men need to be exceptionally attractive to tempt women to consider casual sex, men are far less choosy. These findings by Dr Achim Schützwohl, from the Department of Psychology at Brunel University in the UK, and his team are published online in Springer's journal Human Nature.

11 Aug 2009

Recruitment of new neurons slows when old brain cells kept from dying

Recruitment of new neurons slows when old brain cells kept from dying. Like clockwork, brain regions in many songbird species expand and shrink seasonally in response to hormones.

11 Aug 2009

Research shows how schizophrenia works in the brain

Schizophrenia waits silently until a seemingly normal child becomes a teenager or young adult. Then it swoops down and derails a young life.

11 Aug 2009

Psychology News and Research

Further Reading

Findings suggest that brain predicts the consequences of eye movements

New website launched by Eating Disorder Hope to provide a comprehensive resource on eating disorders

Health and Human Services Secretary to appoint Helene Gayle as the Chair of Presidential Advisory Council

Dalai Lama to participate in The Mind and Life Institute's Washington D.C. conference

Department of Veterans Affairs to simplify rules for PSTD compensation claimants

Study links positive work experiences with happier home life

Rhode Island Hospital to identify a model for integrating screening and brief interventions for alcohol misuse

Missing doctoral student's family and friends establishes the Rescue Resource Fund

Care Support Of America CEO offers advice on caregiving to aging relatives

Cognitive behavioural therapy effective when delivered in online by a therapist

New book explores neurobiology of pleasure

National Institute on Drug Abuse funds study on development of prenatally cocaine-exposed children

Fatigue during radiotherapy for breast or prostate cancer may be caused by inflammation

Running and addiction

Researchers study sleep paralysis

Decreased cravings for pleasure may be at root of a core symptom of major depressive disorder

Massage therapy eases sickle cell disease pain in children

Only the best looking men tempt women into casual sex

Recruitment of new neurons slows when old brain cells kept from dying

Research shows how schizophrenia works in the brain

Expanding research and clinical options for children with cancer

Examining how pain could play a direct protective role in the gut

From Puberty to Menopause: Clue’s CEO, Audrey Tsang on the Power of Femtech

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